Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz

[Il Penseroso]

Is she frequently read or taught?

What are litnetters's views on her writing?

[Amarilis]

Unfortunately I studied Literature in a Spanish University and never heard of her, but she usually is included in poetry anthologies, although she is not quite famous, at least in Spain.

[Virgil]

I've never read her. I only remember hearing about her once before. Have you read her Il Pense? I would be interested in hearing what others who have read her think?

[Il Penseroso]

I'm writing a research paper on her currently (due tomorrow). I'll try to pull out some relevant sections of that to post here, representing my views.

Her "Song of Songs" type poem to the Countess of Paredes is fantastic, though I very much wish I knew Spanish to read the original. I can only look at it and hope to get a feel for what's actually going on versification-wise.

[Il Penseroso]

Here's an excerpt translated by Alan S. Trueblood:

May Heaven serve as plate for the engraving
portraying, Lysis, your angelic figure;
may the sun turn its beams into quills,
may all the stars compose their syllables.
Your skein of locks is a s a prison-house,
a Cretan labyrinth that twists and curls
in webbings of golden Ophirs,
in Tibbars of fair prison-cells.
Hecate full, not triple-shaped,
lavishing white light, comes forth;
not masked but radiant steadily,
she sheds her brightness from your brow.
Two bow-shaped arcs, a semicircle each,
form warlike Persian weaponry,
dispatching asps instead of arrows,
vipers that flatter venomously.
Lamps of Phoebus, your two eyes
flash sudden beams of brilliance --
gunpowder turning every soul they strike
into a flaming Torrid Zone.


She's very baroque...

[Virgil]

Thanks. Probably sounds better in Spanish.

[Il Penseroso]

I'm sure. Trueblood I think tries too hard for rhyme and it comes across as a bit silly. I haven't had much time for comparing translations, as my paper is for a history course and details of the language itself hasn't been my focus.

Octavio Paz's study of her life, poetry and the surrounding culture is an illuminating start for getting a more involved look.

[Il Penseroso]

Unfortunately I studied Literature in a Spanish University and never heard of her, but she usually is included in poetry anthologies, although she is not quite famous, at least in Spain.

That's amazing to me. In the Mexican tradition I know she is viewed very fondly.

[stlukesguild]

I actually have a Sor Juana anthology and have read through the biography of the writer, but admittedly have read little of her actual poetry. If JCamilo pops up he might give a better view of her reputation at least among Latin American readers. She seems to stand as one of the first (if not THE first) great poet of the "new world" after the arrival of the Europeans. She is quite respected for as an early feminist... a mathematician, a scholar, a poet and an amateur scientist who took a hard stance upon hypocritical aspects of the expected roles of the women (especially concerning prostitution) and for her passionate argument for the education of women. She eventually came into conflict with the church which sought to reprimand her and she reputedly abandoned her writing (although others suggest she continued to write in secret) and sold all of her scientific instruments and her 4,000 books (an amazing number at any time... but especially at that time when books were quite a luxury. It has been suggested by others that the Inquisition had all of her books burned. I would certainly second the suggestion of Paz' book.

[Il Penseroso]

Paz puts her in a syncretic tradition that adopts elements of native language (parts of her villancicos were in Nahautl) and mythology with the Greco-Roman tradition. My paper is to argue that her feminism is only one aspect (albeit a prominent one) of a larger philsophy of Catholic universalism (influenced by the hermetic tradition) that sought reconciliation of disparate (particularly native, who did not have much voice in the period) cultures. This is evident in her poems "Replying to a gentleman from Peru who had sent her some small clay vessels, telling her she should become a man" and "She paints the shapely proportions of the Most Excellent Countess de Paredes. . ." which reference place, with ties to native cultural elements, as they convey her views on gender roles.

[Amarilis]

That's amazing to me. In the Mexican tradition I know she is viewed very fondly.

Well, here in Spain the Latin American literature and culture are scarcely known by the general public, which I think it´s a great pity. As I told you before, she is included in anthologies of Spanish poetry of the "Siglo de Oro", I suppose because Mexico was then a Spanish territory.

[Pecksie]

She was a fascinating woman. Whatever the reasons for her taking the veil, she certainly didn't want to live a cloistered existence --- the convent parlour (or was it her own cell?) eventually became a sort of salon where she received intellectuals and other interesting people. Her "Answer to Sister Philotea of the Cross" (Sister Philotea actually being the Bishop of Puebla, who was basically telling her to stop reading profane literature and meddling in men's affairs) is a marvel of wit, passion and dignity. She defended women's right to an education, to culture, and to apply their talents in the way they (and not their male relatives) thought best.

[marcolfo]

she used to be in the 200 pesos bill
a while ago